Los Angeles Sparks general manager Penny Toler took over as head coach when Carol Ross was fired July 20. (Stephen Carr/Staff Photographer)

Penny Toler is wearing a Sparks polo shirt, sweats and some bling in the form of a Michael Kors lock-and-key necklace for a recent practice.

She’s trying to unlock the key to successfully managing her newly appointed dual role as general manager and coach of the Sparks since the July 20 firing of Carol Ross. Toler is the longest-tenured general manager in the WNBA, but she’s working overtime to get the Sparks through the season.

On Friday, Toler begins her first postseason as coach in leading the Sparks in a best-of-three Western Conference semifinals playoff series against Phoenix. The Mercury has the best record in the WNBA at 29-5 and has lost only one home game this season. The Sparks are 16-18 and have won just seven home games.

Toler has found the right combination to lead the Sparks through a tricky year. In February, the Sparks were bought by a group co-owned by Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten and Mark Walter, who also own the Dodgers.

One of the first things Toler said she was told to do was make a list of the things the Sparks needed. She and her staff did so and they had a refurbished locker room and upgraded scouting equipment among other things.

Toler just finished coaching a practice at Los Angeles Southwest College and it was Magic Johnson’s birthday. There’s an office party for Johnson, but Toler doesn’t have time for mingling. She’s got that coaching to do, something that has moved her from office life to gym rat.

“My thoughts on being a coach have changed,” Toler said. “I didn’t think I’d have as much fun as I’m having. I’m learning a lot, things that will make me a better general manager.

“I’m tough. If someone gets a shot blocked, I’ll clown them a little bit. They know I’m tough and we work hard, but they know I want the best for them. I’ll live and die with them, Monday through Sunday.’’

Once she became coach, Toler said she got a total of five hours of sleep for the first three days so she could learn the plays. Not well enough to draw a play on a clipboard in the huddle though. Toler calls the play and an assistant handles the artistry.

“When I took over, I hadn’t looked at the schedule and we had five games in seven days,” Toler said with a laugh. “I had to learn the plays. That wasn’t the problem for the team. It was just getting players to play to their potential, to play hard, with more intensity, more passion and more effort. I was playing catchup.”

The Sparks went 2-3 in that five-game stretch, then went 4-3 in August.

While the 48-year-old Toler is navigating coaching, Kasten is navigating owning a WNBA team. He once ran the Atlanta Hawks, Thrashers and Braves all at the same time.

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Toler picked his brain about mastering multitasking.

“I don’t think it’s an ideal arrangement,” Kasten said of Toler holding double duties. “We’ve seen it. Don Nelson did it, and I didn’t think that was good when he was doing it.”

Kasten, the president and CEO of the Dodgers, has found himself pleasantly surprised by WNBA games and watching the Sparks and maybe the game of the week. He’s even seen a Britney Griner dunk live.

“I’ve never told Penny, ‘I don’t think you should do this or that,’ ” Kasten said. “I’m learning about the WNBA, but I love it. I’ve dedicated the first season to learning and asking questions.”

Kasten has taken one road trip with the team. He said he’ll try to make the Sparks’ home playoff games.

He can learn plenty game from Toler since no other general manager in the WNBA has lasted as long as she has for 14 years.

“I think that means something,” Sparks center and two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker said. “It speaks to her loyalty. She puts a good team together.”

Toler played for the Sparks when the league began in 1997, scoring the WNBA’s first basket. She became general manager in 2000, and the Sparks won championships in 2001 and 2002 with Lisa Leslie headlining those teams.

The Sparks haven’t won a championship in the 12 years since.

“In L.A., you want to win. I’ve felt we’ve had the players before to paint the championship picture,” Toler said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way. That’s the beauty of sports that you don’t know what’s going to happen. This year, they didn’t respond to the coaching for whatever reason.”

It’s one month into her coaching gig, and Toler has turned around a team on the verge of missing the postseason for just the second time in the Sparks’ tenure.

Toler said she’s always been told she’d be a good coach, but her heart is into putting the team in place.

“There’s nothing like being a player, but the next best thing is the general manager’s seat,” Toler said.

The Sparks plan to hire a coach for the 2015 season. Toler will trade sweats for suits again and work in the office. There, if she ever needs any basketball advice, she can consults Magic Johnson.

“I get to work in an office down the hall from him,” Toler said. “His door is always open.”

Even if Toler guides the underdog Sparks to a championship, she’ll be done with coaching.

“If we were to win, I’m going out on top,” Toler said. “I’m going back to my general manager seat. That would be the greatest story ever told.”